Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-14-2016, 04:07 AM   #11
JWA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 3,765
Send a message via Yahoo to JWA
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhitH View Post
Any visual clues I should look for beyond a chunk missing from the U joint?
Typically only under the most extreme conditions will you have visual indication the actual U-joint itself has failed. One test is parking on a flat paved spot, put transmission in neutral and physically shaking the drive shaft both front and rear---almost any play isn't a good sign.

Should you tackle this DIY make sure to mark the yokes so they can be reassembled exactly as removed----the drive shaft is a balanced assembly so this is an important step.

Most better drive line shops will install u-joints you purchase from them free or little charge---well worth most costs. I personally prefer Spicer greaseable parts---not the cheapest but typically a once-in-a-lifetime expenditure.

JWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2016, 08:03 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
WhitH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 1,126
Ok, thanks JWA. The vibration isn't all that bad so I likely won't be able to discern anything but I'll give it a go. Still hoping it's just an unbalanced tire so I'll have them balanced before I start throwing dollars at it.
__________________
2015 Chevy Express 3500 Duramax
w/ Quigley 4x4 & Agile Fox shocks
Sold 2005 E350 Chateau
Quigley with Agile RIP, 6.0 PSD
WhitH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2016, 09:16 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Frequency is also a telltale. If you have 34.5" tires, those roll at 605 revs/mile so at 60 MPH wheel vibration will happen at about 10 hertz. Driveline vibration would be (revs/mile)*(rear end ratio) so with 4.10 gears, a little over 40 hertz.

I spend years fighting chronic tire vibration. Balancing would only last a few thousand miles than I'd lose weights. Balancing beads didn't work. Its turned out to be bent wheels. They were in spec for a pickup/motorhome, but not in spec for a passenger van (simply because you feel that stuff more in a passenger van). New wheels where the ultimate solution.
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2016, 09:55 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
WhitH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 1,126
I have 4.10 with 33" tires so maybe pretty close to that driveline RPM at 63 mph or so where I'm feeling it. I'm ok with getting new tires, new wheels, or doing the driveline work but I can foresee a scenario where I end up having to do all three....

In hindsight I seem to remember a clunk at one point in the driveline around the time when the problem started. I haven't heard it again but I'll start there after a balance.
__________________
2015 Chevy Express 3500 Duramax
w/ Quigley 4x4 & Agile Fox shocks
Sold 2005 E350 Chateau
Quigley with Agile RIP, 6.0 PSD
WhitH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2016, 11:18 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Also ask for a "Road Force" balancer. They use a roller and compensate for runout and tire flex so they do a better job than a standard spin banner.
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2016, 11:43 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
WhitH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 1,126
Ok will do. I hadn't heard of that so thank you for the heads up.
__________________
2015 Chevy Express 3500 Duramax
w/ Quigley 4x4 & Agile Fox shocks
Sold 2005 E350 Chateau
Quigley with Agile RIP, 6.0 PSD
WhitH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-11-2016, 10:01 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
vandiesel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,253
Garage
Thread resurrection. I've had a mild vibration in the seat at highway speeds also. I noticed some leakage at the front yoke seal in the rear end so I had Dan my gear guy reseal and replace the yoke.
I asked him about the vibration and he suggested potter webster in Portland to heat straighten and balance the driveline. I did that and found a frozen rear joint in the process. (I hate those ford "forever" joints.) Anyway after new seals, new joints, freshly balanced driveline I still have the vibration.
It comes on right at 53mph and goes butter smooth at 65. Dan is convinced the driveline angle is off and is the cause. Dan has a ton of experience with gears and Les Schwab sends all their gear change jobs to him so I trust him.
I had the fancy shmancy re-balance done on all 5 brand new K02 BFG's today to be sure it wasn't tires out of balance. Nope, still there.

John at Quadvan is so swamped I am wondering about a DIY shim job in the rear end after I read one of the earlier posts about shimming. This all seems like a lot of science and physics which I'm not skilled at. Anyone been there done that with any solutions? The vibration is bugging the hell out of me.
__________________
2001 Ford RB 7.3 Quadvan (sold)
2006 Sportsmobile EB Transformer 6.0
vandiesel is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2016, 12:06 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
vandiesel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,253
Garage
Bump to the top
__________________
2001 Ford RB 7.3 Quadvan (sold)
2006 Sportsmobile EB Transformer 6.0
vandiesel is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2016, 05:09 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
alta825's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 439
Garage
Getting some new noise/vibration the last trip on the van. Best way to describe is a faint "whump, whump, whump..." that comes on from 35mph up thru 65-70. Doesn't seem to change coasting or not or braking. I was also getting some shuddering out of the LSD so I replaced the fluid and that noise went away.. also new rear pads/rotors, greased the ujoints in rear shaft (Tom Woods ones I installed 15k ago with the UJOR de-quigļfy). Transfer case fluid changed as well. Noise feels to be coming from the mid to rear of the van. Anything else to check? Tires don't feel like they're out of balance and the ST Maxx's have 15k and wear is even. Thanks for any tips

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
__________________
2002 EB51 7.3L w/ Stage 2- UJoint 6" 4x4 Conversion
2001 RB50 V10 Quigley- SOLD
alta825 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2016, 09:19 AM   #20
Senior Member
 
MountainBikeRoamer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: OrangeCounty, CA
Posts: 1,275
Garage
Alta825 -
Unfortunately I personally don't have anything to offer relative to your specific vibration concerns (other than I've had u-joints go bad on driveline components, usually in my older muscle cars, and make some pretty whunky noises, perhaps what you're describing...)

However -- with this thread getting revived... I had a question I felt was appropriate to introduce into this discussion about wheel/tire balance.

My curiosity revolves mostly around the challenges in getting a good proper balance on the considerably-sized wheel and tire packages we run on our SMB's...and on the choice of wheel material (alloy vs steel) as well as cosmetic decisions relative to wheel weights.

It certainly appears that most forum members with well-spec'd rigs (lifted, 4WD) prefer to run a variety of **alloy** wheels (vs. steel.) And, presumably for cosmetic/aesthetic purposes, you usually don't see many wheel weights visible on the **outside-facing** surfaces of these alloy wheels.

From years of trying to keep my nicely-kept/presented muscle-cars' wheels looking "visually clean / uncluttered" in appearance, I used to ask the tire shops to only place wheel weights on the **inside edges** of the wheels. They would tell me that there's only so good a balance you can get when you don't allow the tech to place weights on both the extreme inside and outside faces of the rims, but I didn't care for those cars to be 100% perfect, just to look great for car shows and not have ugly wheel weights hanging off the beautifully-painted, color-matched factory steel wheels. (I've had a number of Mopars, and love the body-color steel wheel / dog-dish center cap look.) Since these wheels/tires were so relatively lightweight, and my gearing was so relatively low (car would max revs out before hitting 75mph), freeway vibration wasn't a concern of mine.

But driving the big Sportsmobile now -- and running (at present) 245/75's on 16-inch rims....and traveling at 75-80 mph on California freeways to get to a camping destination....it's become crucial to get a dead-nuts balance on these big tires. (And I'm going bigger, soon....will be upping to 285/75 series tires (again 16") after the lift kit goes in.)



So I've chosen steel wheels ---- primarily for their ability to take a big wheel weight if necessary, and to mount those wheel weights on the **extreme outside-edges** of both the inside and outside faces of the wheels (aesthetics be damned, I want this van to drive as smooth as possible on these 8-hour drives.)



With alloy wheels, which require stick-on (adhesive-backed) weights, I've seen how oftentimes there isn't the provision to easily mount those weights very close to the outside face of the wheel....or if there is, few people seem to want to have the stick-on weights visible. So usually the wheel weights closest to the outside face of the wheel are still "hidden" or tucked behind the spokes of the wheel, as well. A less-than-ideal dynamic balance is likely in that situation.



So I guess I'm opening this up to the question: for those with alloy wheels and big tires, how hard has it been to get a quality (and lasting) tire balance on your rigs? And have you ever knowingly accepted a less-than-ideal balance, just to preserve the "clean appearance" (no visible wheel weights) on the outside face of your wheels?
__________________
Mike T
___________________
'95 Ford E250 RB30 PH
MountainBikeRoamer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:52 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.